"What are you laughing at?" Luobo Gan roared when he heard Zhou Hong's laughter, feeling a flicker of panic in his heart.
"Luobo Gan, you've been tricked," Zhou Hong's lips curved slightly, a chilling killing intent flashing in his eyes.
"Zhou Hong, you're asking for death." Luobo Gan raised his hand, intending to kill Zhou Hong quickly. However, as he lifted his hand to make a move, he found himself suddenly powerless, as if his strength had been extinguished. He struggled even to remain suspended in mid-air.
"How can this be? Haven't I already deactivated the Eight Divisions Pagoda?"
"Hmph, Luobo Gan, you thought the method I gave you to deactivate it was genuine? You're wrong. It was meant to accelerate the failure of the antidote." Zhou Hong stated.
"Impossible, I clearly didn't feel the Eight Divisions Pagoda technique just now."
"Stupid bird, that was just a temporary sensation."
"No!" Luobo Gan roared in anger.
"Luobo Gan, accept your death. Previously, failing to refine you into a puppet caused me such great losses. This time, you have nowhere to escape."
Zhou Hong immediately signaled Hei Lan, who instantly seized Luobo Gan's head.
"No… don't kill me, Zhou Hong, I was wrong. Give me a way out." Luobo Gan pleaded in terror, completely devoid of his previous arrogance.
"Don't waste your breath. Father-in-law, I'll need your help with something below: assisting me in refining him into a puppet."
"Alright." Hei Lan nodded, finally breathing a sigh of relief. He had thought he was at a dead end with no chance of turning things around, but Zhou Hong had managed it again. Hei Lan couldn't help but admire him.
For Zhou Hong to refine Luobo Gan into a puppet, he naturally couldn't kill him, as a ruined body wouldn't be suitable for refinement.
"Let's find a place."
Zhou Hong and Hei Lan quickly returned to Wumeng City, and outside the city, in a large mountain, they found a quiet spot to refine Luobo Gan into a puppet.
Approximately three days later.
Inside the cave, Zhou Hong had successfully completed the refinement. Luobo Gan stood behind him, his eyes vacant.
"Heh heh, it's done." Zhou Hong sighed with relief. Although the result was far from what he had initially hoped for, he now possessed a puppet with the strength of a Third-Rank Demon King.
Outside the cave, Hei Lan stood guard for Zhou Hong, preventing any interruptions.
Zhou Hong emerged with Luobo Gan.
"Is it successful?" Hei Lan looked at Luobo Gan behind Zhou Hong and asked in disbelief.
"Of course!"
"He… he's really under your control?" Hei Lan was somewhat skeptical. After all, refining puppets was a legendary skill, likely lost in the entire Demon Realm by now.
"Why don't you try a few moves with him?"
"Alright, I'll see if his strength has diminished. I have a rough idea of Luobo Gan's previous strength."
Zhou Hong nodded and immediately gave a command to Luobo Gan in his mind.
The next second, Luobo Gan's gaze fixed on Hei Lan, filled with killing intent, and he lunged forward.
"Holy crap!" Hei Lan yelped in surprise. He felt that Luobo Gan's killing intent was incredibly strong, and his destructive power seemed more direct than before.
That was correct. Because Luobo Gan was now a puppet, he feared neither death nor consequences, thus his killing intent was more direct and potent.
"Stop quickly!" Hei Lan shouted urgently. He felt he couldn't even block one move. Previously, he could manage to block one or two moves against Luobo Gan.
"Heh heh, how was that?" Zhou Hong gave the command to stop in his mind and then looked at Hei Lan with a chuckle.
"Too strong, it feels even more terrifying than before."
"Indeed, now that he's a puppet, his strength is even greater than before. Even I didn't expect it," Zhou Hong said, quite satisfied.
"Zhou Hong, this puppet refining method, your Nine-Rank Immortal King behind you taught it to you, right?"
Zhou Hong did not conceal it and nodded, "Yes, but I hope you won't mention this."
"Of course. The art of puppetry has long been lost in the Demon Realm. Even the Demon Emperor wouldn't know it. Even if they did, it would be akin to soul-controlling techniques, which are far from the true art of puppetry," Hei Lan nodded.
"What's the difference between soul-controlling techniques and the art of puppetry?"
"Soul-controlling techniques only control another's soul and require significant exertion from oneself. Puppet techniques are different; they transform others into your own demonic artifacts, and they can even enhance the puppet's strength without consuming your own energy."
"Exactly."
"If others find out you possess the art of puppet refinement, powerful individuals will surely covet it. I understand the principle that an innocent man's treasure is his own ruin."
Zhou Hong felt a pang of unease. He hadn't expected the art of puppetry to be so extraordinary. Wouldn't that mean that one day, someone would inevitably covet his puppet refining skills, and perhaps then, powerful individuals would try to force him to reveal the art or hunt him down. Su Dan Novel Network
"Damn it." Zhou Hong cursed in frustration.
Putting aside his thoughts, Zhou Hong immediately returned to Hei Lan's mansion in Wumeng City.
However, as soon as Zhou Hong entered Hei Lan's mansion, he saw seven Demon Kings waiting there.
These seven Demon Kings were none other than the Ten Great Demon Kings of Wumeng City.
"Hei Lan, you scoundrel." The seven Demon Kings rushed towards Hei Lan in anger upon seeing his return, seemingly looking for him.
Hei Lan and Zhou Hong saw the situation and knew what had happened. It seemed the seven Demon Kings had all cultivated the Eight Divisions Pagoda to its third level. This meant that, from this moment on, the original Ten Great Demon Kings of Wumeng City were all under Zhou Hong's control.
"Hei Lan, what have you done to us? Didn't you say the Eight Divisions Pagoda technique you gave me was only for me? Why did I only find out today that you, damn it, also gave it to six other Demon Kings." One of the effeminate Demon Kings grabbed Hei Lan's clothes and interrogated him fiercely.
Hei Lan calmly said, "A Piao Demon King, you've misunderstood."
"You dare to quibble? Ask the other six, did you also practice the Eight Divisions Pagoda you gave me?" the Demon King named A Piao asked, his face full of rage.
"That's right, Hei Lan. When you told me back then, you said it was only for me and that I shouldn't tell anyone. I never expected you to give it to so many people." The other six Demon Kings also looked resentful.
"It's one thing to give it to so many people, but you also gave us a problematic technique. Do you know that when we cultivated to the third level, we suddenly felt our meridians were about to rupture every time we channeled energy? You gave us a flawed technique, what are your intentions?"
The seven Demon Kings, appearing ready to denounce Hei Lan, were completely unaware of the significance of this development for them.